Cleveland Foundation 'refines' structure

The Cleveland Foundation is announcing two new hires and a restructuring of its program staff in an effort to streamline the process and serve as a better resource for grantees.

Nelson Beckford

The foundation has two main areas of grantmaking: board-directed grantmaking, which includes initiatives and longer-term projects tackled in collaboration with partners, and community-responsive grantmaking, which is where organizations request funds for their work.

Previously, program officers under the community responsive grants were generalists, without specific areas of focus.

To better align both forms of grantmaking under the new structure, the program staff will be specialized in the following areas: leadership development; youth and social services; education; neighborhood revitalization and engagement; economic and workforce development; arts and culture; and environment and health, according to a news release.

India Pierce Lee

"This can be very beneficial to build deeper capacity-building with grantees where needed, build deeper relationships across the program areas for the foundation and the grantees, and create other opportunities to work with external partners," said India Pierce Lee, Cleveland Foundation senior vice president, program.

The change will mean that grantees will have access to a program officer and a program director, which is more of a resource for organizations. The new structure will not change the grantee process or the timing of any grants.

Diane Kaszei

As part of the realignment, the foundation has hired Dale Anglin, who officially joined the foundation in October as program director for youth & social services, and Nelson Beckford, who is returning to the foundation on Monday, Jan. 8, as program director for neighborhood revitalization and engagement.

Beckford worked for the Cleveland Foundation between 2008 and 2014, but has spent the last four years at St. Luke's Foundation, where he served as the senior program officer for the "A Strong Neighborhood" program area. He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Cleveland State University.

Dale Anglin

Anglin served as a consultant for the foundation since May 2017 before being formally hired in the fall. A graduate of Smith College, Anglin earned her master's degree at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, according to the release.

The foundation also announced it is promoting Diane Kaszei, who's been with the foundation since 1990, to director of grants management.

"Refining our grantmaking team structure not only reflects how the needs in Greater Cleveland have evolved over time," Lee said in a statement, "but it also better leverages the strengths of our program directors and officers to apply their expertise with community partners and our donors to have an even greater impact."

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